Three Possible Questions with Answer from "The Three Day Blow" and Summary

English | Questions
The Three Day Blow
Ernest Hemingway
Class : 11 | The Magic of Words

Summary

This is a dramatic story by Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway presents natural symbols of three days blow as an analogy of Nick's character who is suffering from the conflict of love affair. The affair ends in reconciliation like the one the day becomes clear after three day's blow. The autumn wind lasted in three days. Nick came to the road through orchard field and went to the top of the hill where Bill welcomed him. The two friends sat together to have drinks. When Bill's father had gone for hunting, they sat in front of the fire and talked about many things. At first, they talked about
baseball, then about different writer like Walpole and Chesterton and their books. It was too cold; Bill brought shocks for Nick. Nick and Bill drank very much. Nick brought the log from outside and they enjoyed the heat fire. They drank Irish and Scotch whisky. They drank in the name of fishing and game. Bill felt glad that Nick had broken his love affair with Marjorie. Bill tried to console him that if he had in love with Marge, they wouldn't have enjoyed like this. Nick considered that he had broken his affair because Marjorie's mother had interfered their love affair. So he thought that it would be better to break love affair. When they had finished their drinking, they went out with two shotguns, which Bill took out from the shelf. On the way out they saw the surf was rising in the sea. At last, when they went down the hill, they heard the blow of shooting by Bill's father. Every Saturday Nick still went to market that was kept secret. The story presents natural symbols of three day's blow and the conflict undergoing in Nick's mind is parallel. 

Important Questions 

1. Discuss "The Three Day Blow" as a dramatic story. 

Ans: Drama is a genre that tells a story through the speech and actions of the character in the story. Here, in "The Three Day Blow" the story is presented with the help of dialogues. In the drama, the story is presented in different places, in the same way in `The Three Day Blow' there are scenes too. The whole story becomes clear by the dialogue between Nick and Bill in different places. 

2. The story is presented in a sequence of approximately seven scenes. Can you find them? 

Ans: In this story, Nick and Bill are the main characters. They are presented in different places. In the first scenes, Nick and Bill stand outside the cottage. In the second scenes Nick and Bill drink sitting in Bill's sitting room. In the third scene nick is picking up the apricots he has dropped in the kitchen. In the fourth scene, they are putting the log on the fire in the sitting room. In the fifth scene, they were coming from the kitchen. In the scene, they are in the sitting room talking about Marjorie. In the seventh scene both friends Nick and Bill are outside the cottage and they are ready to go for hunting. 

3. What is the relationship between the Three Day Blow and Nick's mental condition? 

Ans: There is similarity between the Three Day Blow and Nick's mental condition. As the three day blow comes suddenly and makes the tree leafless, similar kind of tragic blow comes in the love affair between Nick and Marjorie. Nick loves Marjorie but her mother is bad. The first day blow indicates Nick's hatred towards Marjorie's mother; the second blow indicates his suffering from separation. The third day blow indicates his planning for reunion. 

Questions for Practice 

1. What does Nick have to say about his married life in "Three Day Blow"? How does he say it? 

2. What did Nick and Bill talk about?